Word count: ∼2,825
The letter didn't smell like anything.That was the first thing Ciel noticed. Three years of Evimeria's diplomatic correspondence had trained him to recognize the faint cedar-oil seal Damiel used when it was personal. This one had it. But the paper itself was clean. No dust from the messenger's road, no lingering trace of the capital's smog. Like it had been written and sent through a channel that bypassed everything in between.Damiel was being careful.Ciel unfolded it anyway, standing on the stone parapet of the northern border fort where the wind cut through everything."I miss you. Come home.
Hemaxora is visiting for diplomatic issues. You know what that means.
Your brothers are being insufferable. Come deal with them before I throw one into the bay.
All 4 are still single. Their families are getting antsy. So am I.
— D"
No "your highness." No "supreme commander." Just D.Ciel read it twice. Then he folded it and put it in his coat, over his heart, where the imprint pull was already starting to ache."Change of plans," he said.Lucas was on the wall behind him, as he always was. Three years and the man hadn't slept properly once while Ciel was in heat. He'd heard the letter rustle. He didn't ask what it said. He never asked."We leave for the capital at dawn," Ciel continued. "Hemaxora's delegation arrives in five days. I'll meet them as Supreme Commander."Lucas's throat worked. That was his only tell."Pack light," Ciel added. "We're riding hard."He didn't look back. If he did, he'd see the way Lucas's shoulders dropped half an inch, like he'd been holding his breath for three years and just got permission to breathe again.The ride was brutal on purpose.
Ciel could have taken the fast-travel wyvern route. Safer, faster, less strain on the border garrison. But he chose horses. Four days of hard riding through Evimeria's northern pass. No stops longer than necessary. No small talk.He needed the ache in his thighs and the wind in his face to drown out the other ache.The one under his skin.The imprint didn't care that he'd been gone three years. It had never stopped humming. Theodore—Dory—low and steady, like a drumbeat he'd been born to. Lucas, quieter, frayed at the edges, always secondhand through Dory.
And now, closer. Every mile toward the capital made it louder.By the second night, Ciel was snapping at his own lieutenant for a loose strap."Your highness," the man said, carefully, "do you want me to ride ahead and inform the palace?""No," Ciel said. "They'll know when I'm there."He said it like it was a threat.It was.To himself. He hadn't slept through a night in three years. Not properly. Even when he wasn't in heat, his body refused to let go. Too used to waking up alone, cold, with the sheets tangled from fighting himself. Now, with the capital two days out, the dreams were getting worse.Dory's hands. Jesse's voice. Clyde's weight. Lucas's eyes. He woke up on the third night with his hand fisted in his shirt, over the letter.Lucas was on watch. He always was. He didn't say anything. He just moved closer to the fire and threw on another log, giving Ciel the illusion of privacy. Ciel hated him for it. And was grateful for it.
"Don't," Ciel said before he could stop himself.Lucas froze."Don't what, your highness?""Don't look at me like that," Ciel said.Like I'm already broken and you're just waiting to catch me.Lucas looked away. Obedient. Always obedient.It made Ciel's chest tight."Get some sleep," Ciel said. "You'll need it."Lucas didn't argue. He never argued.But he didn't sleep either.Evimeria's capital smelled different than the border.Salt and steel and too many people.Ciel caught it before the walls came into view. The city was alive in a way the border wasn't. Loud, messy, political.And the imprint hit him like a physical blow. Dory was close.Ciel's horse shied. He reined it in hard, jaw clenched."Your highness?""Keep riding," Ciel said. He could feel Dory's panic under the bond. Faint, but there. Three years without sleep had frayed the man's control. He was holding himself together by sheer spite.Ciel wanted to be angry about it. He wanted to walk into that room and make Dory say it out loud: I was scared you wouldn't want me back. But he couldn't.Not yet. Not with Hemaxora's delegation already in the palace.Damiel met him at the gates.
No ceremony. No guards. Just his brother, in plain riding leathers, looking like he hadn't slept either."You look like hell," Damiel said."So do you," Ciel replied.Damiel smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes "Hemaxora's here," he said, low enough that only Ciel could hear. "Jesse and Clyde arrived this morning. They're in the east wing. Don't kill them before the negotiations start."Ciel dismounted. His legs were stiff from the ride."Is Dory here?" he asked.Damiel's expression shifted. Just slightly."He's in his room," Damiel said. "Hasn't left it since the letter went out. I told him to wait."Ciel nodded."Good," he said. "He can keep waiting. "Damiel didn't call him on the lie.Instead, he put a hand on Ciel's shoulder. Heavy. Brotherly."Whatever happens, you're not doing this alone," Damiel said. "Not this time."Ciel swallowed. "Don't say that," he said. "You'll make me believe it."Damiel let go."Too late," he said.The east wing smelled wrong.Ciel caught it before he saw anyone. Sweat, cedar, iron, and that sharp, feral edge that only came with a rut held back by sheer will. Ciel stopped outside the corridor.Lucas was behind him, silent as always. But Ciel could feel him going rigid. Lucas felt it too."Dory," Ciel said. His voice came out rougher than he intended.Dory was braced against the wall like if he let go he'd collapse or run. Probably both. Hair stuck to his forehead with sweat, eyes bloodshot, collar undone, hands trembling even with them clenched at his sides.He didn't look like the Right Prime Minister of Evimeria. He didn't look like the Dean of Evimeria Academy. He looked like a man who'd been holding his breath for three years."Ciel," Dory said. His voice was wrecked. Low, hoarse, barely human.Ciel stopped dead. Because Dory wasn't looking at him like a lover. He was looking at him like a drowning man looking at air."I told myself I'd wait," Dory said. The words came fast, too fast, like he was afraid he'd lose the chance if he paused. "Damiel said wait. I told Jesse and Clyde to wait. I haven't slept. I haven't drank. I haven't sat down. Because if I close my eyes, I'm scared I'll wake up and—" He cut himself off. His throat worked. "And the bond will be gone." Ciel's chest tightened. Three years. Three years of heats alone, and Dory had been here, burning through ruts alone too, because the imprint didn't care that Ciel was stubborn. It just punished them both.Lucas was still on the steps behind Ciel. Silent. But Ciel could feel him going rigid, because Lucas was imprinted to Dory too. He felt it all secondhand. Dory took a step forward. Then stopped himself, fingers digging into the stone wall hard enough to whiten his knuckles. "Don't look at me like that," Dory whispered. "Don't look at me like I'm pathetic. I know I am. I know I look like hell. But Ciel—" His voice broke. "If you say you don't want it, I'll break it. I'll do it. I'll cut it out of myself before I let it rot and make you miserable. But don't—don't let me wake up and find out you decided without telling me."Ciel stared at him. This was Dory. His first love. The man who held Evimeria together with one hand and the imprint bond with the other. And right now he was unraveling because Ciel hadn't said one word in three years.The possessiveness flared up hot and ugly in Ciel's chest. Mine. Mine to hurt, mine to fix, mine to decide. Not Damiel's. Not the families. Not Hemaxora. "You think I'd let you break it without talking to me first?" Ciel said quietly. Dangerous quiet. Dory flinched like he'd been struck. "I don't know what you want," Dory said. "That's the problem. I don't know anymore."Behind Ciel, Lucas made a low sound. Like he was in pain just hearing it. Ciel exhaled, sharp and frustrated. He wanted to grab Dory by the shoulders and shake him. He wanted to tell him no one's breaking anything until I say so. He wanted to drag him to bed and fix three years of this mess himself. But he couldn't. Not here. Not like this. Not with the palace staff two corridors over and Hemaxora's delegation probably already hearing about the "ruthless omega prince" causing a scene.So he did the only thing he could. He stepped forward, close enough that Dory could feel the heat of him, and said, low enough that only Dory and Lucas could hear:"Go to your room. Drink water. Sleep. Now. Before you collapse and I have to explain to Damiel why his Prime Minister died of stubbornness."Dory's eyes widened. "Ciel—""That's not a dismissal," Ciel cut him off. "That's an order. From your omega. If the bond means anything to you, you'll listen."It was a gamble. Using the bond like that. But Dory's shoulders dropped half an inch, like the order gave him permission to stop holding everything up alone."I'll come to you," Ciel added. "After I deal with Hemaxora. You're not getting rid of me that easy."Dory stared at him for a long second. Then he nodded. Once. Jerky, desperate. He didn't speak again. He couldn't. He just turned and walked away, every step looking like it cost him something.The corridor went quiet. Lucas finally stood up. His voice was hoarse when he said, "You're cruel, Ciel."Ciel didn't deny it. "I know." The war council was in an hour.Ciel took fifteen minutes to wash the road off himself. He didn't bother with the formal uniform. Black leathers, high collar, sword at his hip. If Hemaxora wanted to play politics, they'd deal with the Supreme Commander, not the Omega Prince in silks.Damiel was waiting outside his door."Jesse's been asking for you," Damiel said as they walked. "Clyde's been quiet. That's worse.""Why?" Ciel asked."Because when Clyde's quiet, it means he's already decided something," Damiel said. "And I don't know what it is."Ciel didn't answer.He couldn't.His mind was still on Dory's face. The way he'd looked like he'd break if Ciel said one wrong word.The war council room was full when they entered.Hemaxora's delegation stood on one side. Jesse and Clyde, in Hemaxora's formal colors, both looking older than Ciel remembered. Jesse's hair was shorter. Clyde had a scar across his knuckles that hadn't been there before.Jesse's eyes found Ciel immediately.Gold, sharp, assessing.Clyde's eyes dropped. Respectful. But not submissive. Never submissive.Damiel stepped forward.
"Welcome to Evimeria," he said. "This is my brother, Prince Ciel. Supreme Commander of our forces."Jesse bowed. Not deep. Just enough."Prince Ciel," Jesse said. His voice was lower than Ciel remembered. "It's been a long time.""Too long," Ciel replied.He didn't look at Clyde yet. If he did, he'd remember that Clyde was the only one without the imprint. The only one who'd chosen them without biology forcing his hand.And that made it worse.Because Clyde had chosen, and Ciel had left anyway.
Damiel started the briefing. Trade routes through the northern pass, border skirmishes that could become war if handled wrong, Hemaxora's request for joint naval patrols in the southern strait.Ciel listened. He always listened. But he felt it.The imprint pull.Dory was awake now. Drinking water, probably. Following the order.Jesse was watching him. Not obviously. But Ciel could feel it.And Lucas was at the back of the room, silent, taking it all in.Three years, and nothing had changed.Except everything had.The council ran long.Hemaxora wanted concessions on the northern pass. Evimeria wanted trade guarantees for the southern ports. Ciel argued both sides without giving ground. He was better at this than Damiel. Damiel knew it.
That's why he'd called Ciel back.When it ended, Jesse was the first to approach him. "Prince Ciel," Jesse said. "A moment?"Ciel glanced at Damiel."Go," Damiel said. "I'll handle the rest. "Ciel followed Jesse out into the balcony.The night air was cold. It helped."You look well," Jesse said. "Liar," Ciel said .Jesse smiled. It was small, but real."I missed you," Jesse said.Ciel didn't answer."I know you're angry," Jesse continued. "You have a right to be. But running for three years didn't make it better.""Running kept me alive," Ciel said.Jesse stepped closer."Did it?" Jesse asked. "Or did it just make it hurt slower?"Ciel's jaw clenched.
"Don't," he said.Jesse stopped."Okay," Jesse said. "Then tell me what will."Ciel looked at him. Really looked.Jesse had always been the first to move. The first to touch, the first to speak, the first to claim.But he was waiting now.For Ciel."Not here," Ciel said. "Not now."Jesse nodded."Then when?" Jesse asked.Ciel exhaled."When I'm done with Hemaxora," he said. "And when Dory's stopped looking like I killed him."Jesse's expression softened."Fair," Jesse said.He didn't touch Ciel. He didn't try. But before he left, he said one thing:"He's not the only one who hasn't slept."Then he was gone.Clyde found him an hour later.In the training yard. Alone.Ciel was running through forms with a wooden sword. Hard, fast, trying to burn off the energy that had nowhere else to go.Clyde didn't interrupt. He just leaned against the post and watched.Ciel finished the set and turned."Clyde," he said.Clyde pushed off the post. "Your highness," Clyde said. Formal. Deliberate.Ciel hated it.
"Stop that," Ciel said.Clyde's lips twitched. "You left," Clyde said. "So I thought we were back to formalities."Ciel lowered the sword."I didn't leave you," Ciel said.Clyde's expression didn't change."You left all of us," Clyde said. "But you're right. I wasn't imprinted. So I don't get to be mad about it the same way."Ciel stepped closer."You chose them," Ciel said. "Without the bond."Clyde's eyes flickered."I did," Clyde said. "And I'd do it again."Ciel stopped in front of him."Then why are you standing there like you're afraid I'll tell you not to?" Ciel asked.Clyde was quiet for a long time."Because I don't know what you want," Clyde said. "And I'm tired of guessing." Ciel's chest tightened."That makes two of us," Ciel said.Clyde's hand moved, almost reaching for Ciel's wrist. Then he stopped himself. "Hemaxora's delegation leaves in three days," Clyde said. "After that, there won't be an excuse." Ciel nodded."I know," Ciel said.Clyde searched his face."Are you going to make us wait?" Clyde asked. Ciel looked past him, toward the east wing."Yes," Ciel said.
"Until I'm ready to not hate myself for wanting it."Clyde nodded."Fair," Clyde said.He turned to leave.Then he stopped."Ciel," Clyde said.Ciel looked up."Don't make Dory wait alone," Clyde said. "He won't survive it."Then he was gone.Ciel didn't sleep that night.He sat in his room, staring at the letter on the table.Damiel's words were simple. But they'd unraveled three years of carefully built walls.Come home.He was home.And it felt like walking into a room that had been on fire the whole time he was gone.The imprint was humming. Dory, close now. Sleeping, finally. Lucas, in the guard's quarters, restless. Jesse, in the guest wing, awake. Clyde, somewhere in the palace, thinking.Five people. One bond.
And Ciel in the middle of it, trying to decide if he was allowed to want what he'd never stopped wanting. He stood up.He didn't go to Dory's room.Not yet.He went to the balcony. The capital was quiet now.Tomorrow, Hemaxora would push harder. Tomorrow, the families would start circling. Tomorrow, he'd have to face all of them.But tonight, he could pretend. That he was just Ciel. Not the prince. Not the commander. Not the omega. Just the man who'd spent three years trying to forget the feel of four other people's hands on his skin. He failed. He always failed. The imprint pulled, and Ciel let it. For now.